User Groups Remain Vital

Last week we were speaking at the annual OMNI User Group event in Chicago. In common with other groups around the country OMNI is experimenting with different locations and styles of events in order to help lower their prices and (hopefully) attract more attendees. This year the event was held at the IBM facility in Schaumburg, a very different location from the more usual hotel or convention center. Judging from the attendance though it seems to have worked. We understand attendance was higher than in previous years and our sessions were all very well attended. We were also delighted to see that IBM i's chief architect Steve Will attracted a good crowd for his keynote session at the end of the day.

As usual Steve did a great job, and the IBM i success stories he relayed were heartening to the faithful. One rather sad note in his presentation was his comment as to how hard it is to get companies to agree to allow IBM to use their names. Not just as references, but at all! Why? Because IBM i is their competitive advantage. They know their competitors are wasting millions of dollars trying to get other systems up to the level of capability, reliability and affordability IBM i offers them. Why on earth would they want to share that information with them?

On the Subject of User Groups

Tomorrow (Wednesday 26th), we are partnering with the good folks at TUG in Toronto to offer a one-day mini-Summit event. Two tracks of RPG-oriented sessions will be coupled with a lunch time "chat" with the RPG compiler's lead architect Barbara Morris. TUG has always been at the forefront of providing innovative educational offerings to members. The group already offers low-cost night school classes to help members bring their skills up to date. This is the latest and it looks from the number of people registered as if it will be successful and hopefully the first of many.

OMNI and TUG are just two examples of vibrant local IBM i user groups. They are certainly not alone. This year we've already worked with WMCPA, the Wisconsin area group, NEUGC, the northeast user group consortium, OCEAN user group in southern California and AMCU in Atlanta, as well as the Fort Wayne user group.  Sadly, we have also heard of local user groups that continue to struggle to stay afloat and some that have lost the struggle.

Local user groups can be a valuable way to keep abreast of both local business trends as well as IBM i technical information and networking with IBM i peers. Online resources are great but can never replace the face-to-face interaction with fellow i fans.

We've said it before and hate to sound like a broken record. But if you don't participate in your local user group, you should. If they aren't offering the kinds of topics or activities you need, contact them and tell them what you need. And if you don't have a local user group in your area, maybe it's time to start one. There are people who can help. You could begin by starting a conversation on the subject here on our blog or on the InterLUG mailing list run by David Gibbs.

Comments

[Bob C.]

Sadly, the group here in Kansas City hasn't been active for almost 10 years now. Location and cost were always the divisive issues.

[D.Rima]

Hi Jon,

The interlug isn't run by David Gibbs, however it IS hosted by midrange.com.

The interlug is a closed list server for user group officials and liasons to be able to discuss ongoing issues and hopefully build and make the LUG community stronger, as your BLOG so aptly suggests.

You are very correct that many of the LUGs over time have dissappeard. The reasons are generally quantifiable, however it would sure be nice to see a resurgence of them again.

I would also suggest people visit www.eserverusergroup.org. Even though I'm not the COMMON LUG liason anymore, I do try to keep this site current and welcome any corrections to it.

D.Rima
Interlug Admin.
www.eserverusergroup.org web admin

[Nathan Andelin]

Our user group presidency recently sent out the following:

"As a presidency we are trying to clean up our mailing list and make sure that we are not wasting your time and also reach out to those who may not be aware of our User Group meetings and invite them to participate. Please take a moment to answer the following two questions or simply let us know your feelings about what you need from our meetings to make them have a justifiable purpose for your time. We honestly look forward to your views and strive to make this organization of value to you."

"Question #1 - Do you or the company that you work for still have an IBM i (AS/400)? If so, what is your company name and how many there work on the i (AS/400)?"

"Question #2 - Your thoughts on the Greater Salt Lake Midrange User Group (GSLMUG): (what would justify your time to attend the monthly meetings?)"

My hurried response:

We have two (2) people developing and administering our IBM i based system and appreciate your interest in having a user group that discusses and shares concerns and content relevant to IBM i. We enjoy participating in the group. We sometimes have work and other meetings that prevent us from attending user group meetings, but we're generally pleased with what you and others have been offering and would like to continue our participation.

Sometimes meeting content may not be applicable to us, and we may choose to let it go. For example, it didn't appear that the latest meeting sponsored by IBM, with presentations on Pure Flex architecture was directly applicable to us. While we understand that IBM i is supported on Pure Flex, that appears to be something of an after thought. The systems are really geared more toward supporting MASSIVELY parallel Intel, Windows, and Linux workloads. While that may be interesting, it's not our primary concern.

We would like to see more content related to IBM i systems administration. The presentation from Maxava was very informative, for example. What about daily operations, workload management, PTFs, O/S upgrades, security, technology refreshes, high availability, database administration, how IBM i is being used in our community, and such?

[Jon Paris]

@Don - Sorry mate - I actually knew that and just mis-spoke. Thanks for reminding us of the eserverusergroup site.

[Christopher Burns, Sr.]

The Midrange Users Group of Western New York (MUGWNY) is still hanging tough. It's a far cry from what it used to be, but we'll still get 25-30 at most meetings. Tonight is opening night and our loyal friend Steve Fier is presenting. Occasionally we can get someone from IBM Toronto, and usually one of us from GEMKO presents once a year. Other local and regional vendors help us fill in the gaps. Hopefully we can maintain a heartbeat.

[Kevin Purtell]

The Albuquerque users group petered out in the mid 90's if I recall. If we restarted a LUG nowadays it would just end up being a staff meeting! I don't think there are more than a handful of sites doing their own programming here anymore.

[Laura Ubelhor]

Very much agreed Jon! And thanks for all you and Susan do to encourage and promote local groups. User groups are vital. Keeping a user group active is impacted by those that step forward and volunteer. Not only participate but take it a step further in helping out with your local user group. Volunteering can make a big difference in the success of the group and the offerings. Some groups have struggled in recent years but we have also seen groups flourish and continue to provide great offerings to group members. This year I have heard conversation about at least 3 different areas that are seriously working toward starting up new groups.

There has always been a strong sense of community associated with the platform. User groups across the Country are a big part of providing a means and opportunity for the community to learn and interact. It is great to see the offerings provided through LUGs. It does seem many groups have continued to step up and provide wonderful offerings. Doing so can make a big difference in attracting and educating not only those that have been in the industry for some time but also those new to the platform. A sure constant in IT is Change. Changing technology provides new and improved ways to provide and deliver solutions and support . Keeping up with change and being aware of what is new and available has a significant impact on the value you provide. User groups provide an awesome opportunity for members to be able to learn from leading industry experts and stay current at a very affordable cost.

Ditto to Susan and Jon’s thoughts – seek out, participate, get involved with your local user group!